Louisiana Tech 74, Southern 66
RUSTON -- The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (2-6) picked up their second win of the season Saturday night over Southern (0-9) 74-66 in the Thomas Assembly Center.
“I’m very happy for these players,” Tech head coach Keith Richard said. “They played hard tonight. We’ve played just like we’ve been playing, and now we have a win to show for it.”
Southern came out of the gate firing and led 9-4 with 16:14 in the first half before freshman Kyle Gibson hit a jumper for his first points of the night to cut the lead to 9-6 with 15:32 on the clock. Senior Marcus Elliot hit a three-pointer at the 15:14 mark to tie the game 9-9, and the Bulldogs took their first lead of the night 12-9 thanks to a Gibson three-pointer a 14:12.
The Bulldogs would outscore Southern 19-18 for the remainder of the first half and led 31-27 at halftime.
The second half was not very different from the first, and the Bulldogs cruised to victory after scoring 41 second-half points.
McKenzie registered his second double-double with 14 points and 19 rebounds. Gibson finished with a career-high 16 points, while Elliot ended the game with 12. Senior Trey McDowell was the fourth Bulldog in double-digits with 11 points.
“Chad was rebounding the ball very well tonight,” Richard said. “That’s why I left him in for 39 minutes tonight. Every game is a learning experience for this team. I want to continue to get better offensively. We need to play a game with two great offensive halves like we had in the second half tonight.”
The Bulldogs will have the week off before rematching with Southern in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m.
Fresno State 82, Montana State 77 (OT)
Bozeman, Mont. - Fresno State head coach Steve Cleveland knew Saturday's game wasn't going to be easy. He knew playing three road games in eight days wasn't going to be easy. And he knew after his team took a bus trip six hours from Salt Lake City and arrived in Bozeman, Mont. at 3 a.m. Saturday morning, that the game wasn't going to be easy.
Sure enough, Saturday night's game against Montana State wasn't easy, but the Bulldogs fought through everything going against them and pulled out an 82-77 overtime victory at the Worthington Arena on the Montana State campus.
Fresno State was forced to bus to Bozeman from Salt Lake City, after mechanical problems with a Fresno aircraft forced the Bulldogs to miss the one and only connecting flight into Bozeman.
But that didn't stop Fresno State, as they improved to 8-1 on the season and bounced from a tough loss on Wednesday night. A much improved Montana State team fell to 2-8 on the year.
In overtime, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 70-67 lead with a quick 3-pointer, but Montana State went on an 8-2 run to take a 75-72 lead with 2 minutes, 9 seconds remaining. From their, Fresno State finished the game on a 10-2 run, including clutch free throws from Quinton Hosley, who had his best game of the season.
Hosley finished the game with a season-high 30 points, added 10 rebounds and dished out five assists. Hosley went 16-of-17 from the free throw line and scored six points in overtime.
Dominic McGuire added a double-double as well, scoring 13 points and grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds. McGuire scored seven of his 13 points in overtime, as Hosley and McGuire combined for 13 points and Hector Hernandez had the other two points, as Fresno State scored 15 overtime points.
Hernandez finished the game with 14 points and Kevin Bell added 11 points and five assists.
Fresno State looked like it had won the game in regulation, but Carlos Taylor rebounded a missed Montana State shot and put up a 10-foot floater that clearly looked to be after the buzzer, to tie the game 67-67 and force overtime. After a meeting at half court, the referees agreed the shot had beaten the buzzer. The game was not televised, so instant replay was not an option.
In the opening half, the Bulldogs were led offensively by Hosley, who had 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field, including two 3-pointers and Bell added eight points, including two 3-pointers.
As a team the Bulldogs improved their shooting from Wednesday night. Fresno State went 12-of-24 from the field and 6-of-13 from beyond the arc in the opening half.
Fresno State returns to the Save Mart Center when it hosts Creighton at 7:05 p.m. Saturday, December 16. The Bulldogs will only play one game this week and Seattle Sonics mascot Squatch will be in attendance performing before and during the game.
New Mexico State 71, UTEP 69
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) -Justin Hawkins hit two free throws with 5.8 seconds left Saturday night as New Mexico State beat UTEP 71-69.
New Mexico State (5-3) won its fourth straight in a physical, foul-dominated game against the Miners (4-4). There were 58 fouls called and the two teams shot 74 free throws.
Hawkins, who finished with a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds,was fouled by UTEP's Stefon Jackson on an inbounds play after the Miners turned the ball over while trying to get past the Aggies' fullcourt press.
After Hawkins hit the two free throws, UTEP guard Marvin Kilgore missed on a 22-foot 3-pointer.
Jackson led UTEP with 16 points and Malik Alvin scored 12. Maurice Thomas had 11 rebounds and Victor Ramalho grabbed 10 rebounds.
David Fisher led the Aggies with 18 points.
There were 15 lead changes in the second half. The Miners took a 68-66 lead with 1:16 left on a 3-point play by Ramalho, who as fouled by Hatila Passos.
Fred Peete hit one of two free throws for NMSU with 1:08 remaining and UTEP's Pearson Smith hit the second of two free throws with 22.4 seconds remaining for a 69-67 UTEP lead. Peete's two free throws with 7.7 second left tied it.
UTEP got the ball in but were the Miners were called for a turnover. Hawkins was fouled as the Aggies tried to inbound their possession.
UTEP took a 31-22 lead with a 13-0 run in which Alvin scored 7 points with five free throws and a goal tending basket.
New Mexico State closed the half with an 8-1 run to get within 32-30. Neither team led by more than four points in the second half.
In a game where play was frequently stopped by fouls and sloppy play, the Miners had 27 turnovers and New Mexico State 21.
Utah State 69, Utah Valley State 65
OREM, Utah - An 8-0 run early in the second half was enough for Utah State to hold on for a 69-65 win over Utah Valley State Saturday night at UVSC's McKay Events Center. The win was Utah State's eighth-straight to make it 8-1 on the young season. With the win, the Aggies improve to 4-0 against in-state foes this season and have won 10 of the last 11 against teams from the state of Utah.
Senior guard Durrall Peterson tallied a game and season-high 20 points, including hitting a three-pointer from deep in the right corner with 58.7 seconds left, and then iced the game with a pair of free throws with 18.8 ticks on the clock.
Junior guard Jaycee Carroll netted 18 points, stopping his streak of 20-point games at seven in a row. Carroll led USU with a game-high six rebounds, leading the Aggies to a 25-22 rebounding advantage.
It was the first-ever meeting between the two in-state schools, and pushes the Aggies record against teams from the state of Utah to 18-5 over the last seven years and 19-10 all-time under head coach Stew Morrill.
Utah Valley State, who lost for just the fifth time at home over the last four years, fell to 5-4 on the season.
The Aggies shot a sizzling 68.0 percent (17-25) from the field in the second half and 56.3 percent (27-48) from the field in the game. USU was also 5-15 (33.3 percent) from three-point range, and 10-12 (83.3 percent) at the free throw line.
The Wolverines shot 47.9 percent from the field goal and were 6-23 (26.1 percent) from behind the three-point arc. UVSC also was 13-14 (92.9 percent) at the charity stripe.
There were nine ties and eight lead changes in the first half alone, as Utah State's biggest deficit was four at 6-2 and the Aggies' largest lead was one on four different occasions. UVSC took a 27-26 lead into halftime.
Down 33-32 after a three-pointer by UVSC's Richard Troyer with 16:48 to play in the game, Carroll sparked the Aggies' 8-0 run to put them ahead, 40-33. The streak was capped by a bucket by junior center Stephen DuCharme with 13:50 left, and Utah State never trailed again, although there were two ties partway through the game.
The Aggies had four seven-point leads, the last at 54-47 with 7:39 to go, but the Wolverines clawed back to knot it at 56-all.
With Utah State on top 64-63 with the clock closing down to a minute left, junior guard Mikel Waston in-bounded the ball to Peterson with four seconds on the shot clock and Peterson drained the trey to put Utah State ahead, 67-63. UVSC's David Heck hit a bucket, two of his 15 points to pull the Wolverines within two, but after consecutive fouls, Peterson drilled the two free throws to seal the win.
Utah State continues its two-game in-state road swing by heading to Provo, Utah next Saturday, Dec. 16 to take on in-state foe Brigham Young. Tip-off is set for 4:05 p.m.
The Aggies return to the friendly confines of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum to host IPFW on Thursday, Dec. 21 at 7:05 p.m.
Contact the USU Athletics Ticket Office at (435) 797-0305 or at 1-888-U-STATE-1 (1-888-878-2831) for ticket information.
Fans can listen to Utah State men's basketball games live on KVNU 610 AM in Logan and on 1320 AM or 1230 AM in Salt Lake City.
Boise State 84, Cal State Northridge 75
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Matt Nelson scored a season-high 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to spur Boise State to a 84-75 victory over Cal State Northridge on Saturday.
Coby Karl also added 19 points for the Broncos (4-4), which earned its first road win of the season.
Boise State took advantage of its size as Cal State Northridge (5-4) was without its starting center Thomas Shewmake. The Broncos scored 32 points in the paint and shot 54 percent from the field.
The Matadors had a slim 35-34 lead at halftime but went nearly 10 minutes without a field goal in the second half. The team also lost forward Calvin Chitwood who fouled out and played only 10 minutes. Two other players also fouled out.
Northridge was led by Jonathan Heard who led all scorers with a season-high 24 points.
UNLV 58, Nevada 49
RENO, Nev. (AP) - Wendell White scored 12 points and Wink Adams added six of his nine in the final 2:45 Saturday night to help UNLV hold on for a 58-49 victory over No. 20 Nevada, snapping the Wolf Pack's 12-game home winning streak.
Gaston Essengue added 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting for UNLV (7-2). The Runnin' Rebels, who had lost their last three games to Nevada, outscored their rival 17-3 the last 8 minutes of the first half and led by as many as 21 points in the second half before making 4-of-4 free throws in the last 28 seconds after Nevada had cut the lead to six in the final minutes.
Senior Nick Fazekas, playing with bruised ribs, had 16 points and 17 rebounds and junior Ramon Sessions scored all of his 16 points in the second half for Nevada (7-1), which shot only 35 percent from the field and turned the ball over 21 times to UNLV's 11.
The Wolf Pack, who entered the game ranked sixth in the NCAA with 46 percent shooting from 3-point range, made only 1-of-15 from behind the arc in front of a sellout crowd of 11,536 at the Lawlor Events Center.
Trailing 46-25 with 14:57 left in the game, Nevada went on a 17-2 run capped by Sessions' one-handed floater in the lane to pull to within 48-42 with 4:03 left.
Adams scored inside but Fazekas countered with his first basket of the second half to make it 50-44 at 2:28.
Sessions stole the ball and called time out at 1:45, but junior Marcelus Kemp stepped out of bounds under pressure in front of Nevada's bench and Adams followed with a 12-footer from the baseline to put UNLV up 54-45 with 41 seconds left.
Sessions made a layup in traffic and was fouled but missed the free throw 6 seconds later, and Adams and Kevin Kruger both made two free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Nevada, which was off to its best start since 1951-52, had won 21 of its last 22 games dating to last season. It was only their sixth loss at home in 54 games since 2003-04.
Leading 22-19, the Rebels went on a 13-0 run late in the first half, including Curtis Terry's desperation 25-foot pointer as the shot clock expired and Joel Anthony's slam dunk after Nevada's 10th turnover, to make it 35-21 at 3:19.
Freshman JaVale McGee's basket on a rebound ended the Wolf Pack's drought, but White followed a 3-pointer with a 15-foot jumper for a 39-22 halftime lead.
Adams opened the second half with a 3 and Essengue _ who had nine rebounds _ followed a short jumper with a 19-footer to put UNLV ahead 46-25 with 14:57 remaining.
Nevada answered with a 9-0 run to pull to 46-34 on a pair of free throws by Kemp at 7:49.
Joel Anthony scored inside but Nevada went on another 8-0 run, all by Sessions, including a breakaway jam on a pass from sophomore Lyndale Burleson after senior Kyle Shiloh tipped Kruger's pass in the lane to pull to 48-40 at 5:43.
UNLV led early 5-0 on Kruger's 3. Fazekas scored Nevada's first eight points and Kemp made Nevada's only 3-pointer of the first half to make it 13-13. But Joe Darger hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key and Curtis Terry scored in the lane to put UNLV up 20-15 midway through the half.
Washington State 66, Idaho 54
MOSCOW, Idaho ? The University of Idaho men’s basketball team rolled with the Washington State punches through the second half of Saturday’s contest, but a 12-point halftime deficit was too much to overcome as the Vandals fell at home to the Cougars, 66-54.
On paper, Idaho (1-8) improved in nearly every area that has been haunting the team through its now seven-game losing skid, but in the end Washington State’s (9-1) 48-percent shooting from the field proved to be the difference.
The Vandals grabbed more offensive rebounds, scored more second chance points, and each team turned the ball over 14 times, but the Cougars hit four more shots from the floor and connected on four more free throws to earn the 12-point victory.
“I thought our players fought hard and competed well tonight,” Idaho coach George Pfeifer said. “We still have a long way to go to, but I was more proud of their performance throughout the entire game tonight. We had some good looks at the basket and just couldn’t make them and there were some times on the defensive end of the floor where I didn’t feel we were on an edge. Plus, this is a 9-1 Washington State team that just beat Gonzaga.”
Idaho scored the first points of the contest on a Keoni Watson lay in, but Washington State answered with seven consecutive points to take a lead it would not relinquish. Clyde Johnson hit a 3-pointer at the 16:15 mark to bring the Vandals to within 7-5, but the next six points belonged to the Cougars as they built an eight-point advantage with 13:44 remaining in the half. Idaho cut the deficit to three points with 9:48 remaining, but a 9-2 Washington State run gave the Cougars their first double-digit lead of the contest at 24-14 at the 5:48 mark. Idaho pushed back to within five, but Washington closed out the final 3:13 of the half on a 10-3 run to go up 36-24 at halftime.
Watson hit a 3-pointer to open the second half and pull Idaho within nine points, but a steady stream of offensive production from the Cougars and a steady stream of missed second-chance opportunities by the Vandals meant the deficit was 45-31 with 13:45 remaining. The Vandals trimmed the lead to 45-35 with 11:10 remaining, but Washington State never wavered on its way to building a 19-point advantage with just under two minutes to play. Idaho outscored Washington State 11-4 over the final 1:36 to bring the final score to 66-54.
Watson led all scorers with 24 points and added three steals. O.J. Avworo started his second game of the season, scoring seven points and committing zero turnovers in 34 minutes. Desmond Nwoke tallied just five points but grabbed nine rebounds and added a blocked shot. Six of Nwoke’s nine rebounds were offensive.
“Desmond played his best game of the season,” Pfeifer said.
Washington State had four players in double figures with Derrick Low and Mac Hopson each scoring 14 points. Aron Baynes finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.
The Vandals hit 21-of-53 (.396) shots from the field while Washington State was 25-of-52 (.481) from the floor.
Idaho will have the next two days off and will travel to North Dakota State for a contest Saturday (Dec. 16) at 5 p.m.